Heavy metal genres

dUg Pinnick of King's X, substituting for Corey Glover of funk metal band Living Colour

Funk metal is essentially a fusion of heavy metal and funk. It started off in the late eighties as a subgenre of alternative metal and was heavily influenced by bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone. Funk metal bands often use a conventional riffing style influenced by 1980s thrash metal, unlike bands from other alternative metal genres.[16] During the late-'90s, many bands which started out as funk metal branched out into more commercially viable genres, such as alternative rock and nu metal. Notable funk metal bands include Living Colour, Infectious Grooves, Mordred, Primus, and Rage Against the Machine.[17] The biggest regional scene during funk metal's prime was San Francisco.[18]

Nu metal band Korn

Nu metal is a fusion genre that blends alternative metal and groove metal elements with other styles, including grunge, industrial, funk and hip hop. The style is mostly syncopated and based on riffs,[19] and is influenced by groove metal rhythm.[20] Some nu metal bands use seven-string guitars, which are sometimes down-tuned to increase heaviness, resulting in bass guitarists using five and six-string instruments.[21] Turntables, sequencers and samplers are sometimes included.[21] Nu metal vocal styles range between melodic singing, rapping, screaming and death growling. The Bakersfield-based Korn became the first band to be labeled as "nu metal".[22] MTV states that Korn "arrived in 1993 into the burgeoning alternative metal scene, which would morph into nü-metal the way college rock became alternative rock."[23] Coal Chamber,[24] Linkin Park,[25] Slipknot,[26] Papa Roach,[27] Kittie[28] and Disturbed[29] are prominent bands in this genre.

Sonny Sandoval of rap metal band P.O.D.

Rap metal bands institute the vocal and lyrical form of hip hop. Examples of rap metal include Crazy Town, Clawfinger, Stuck Mojo, Skindred and Rage Against the Machine. The thrash metal band Anthrax also helped pioneer the genre. Rap metal is often mislabeled as rapcore (a genre which fuses hardcore punk with hip hop) or nu metal, a genre which has similar elements in the music, rap metal usually does not include turntables or sampling into its sound, although keyboards are often used. Rap metal bands, unlike nu metal bands, are almost always fronted by rappers. Rap metal also lacks the melodic singing and growling commonly associated with nu metal.

NSBM typically melds Neo-Nazi beliefs (such as fascism, white supremacy, white separatism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and homophobia) with hostility to "foreign" religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.). Bands often promote ethnic European paganism, occultism, or Satanism. Hendrik Möbus of Absurd described Nazism as the "most perfect (and only realistic) synthesis of Satanic/Luciferian will to power, elitist Social Darwinism, connected to Aryan Germanic paganism". Members of the band Der Stürmer (named after the antisemitic newspaper edited by Julius Streicher) subscribe to esoteric Hitlerism, leaning on the works of Savitri Devi and Julius Evola.

Red and Anarchist black metal, often shortened to the acronym RABM, is black metal in which the artists espouse various far-left and environmentalist ideologies such as anarchism, Marxism, and green anarchism.[34] It emerged as an amalgamation of black metal with anarchist crust punk,[35][36] and typically eschews the traditional Satanic and nihilist lyrics of black metal.[35][37] While some artists such as Iskra, Panopticon, Puna Terrori and Skagos overtly endorse political agendas and manifestos, others, such as Wolves in the Throne Room and some other Cascadian artists, would not explicitly associate with the red or anarchist label.[35] Other RABM artists include Storm of Sedition,[36] Not A Cost,[36] Black Kronstadt,[36] Crepehanger,[36] Leper,[36] Mutiny,[36] Fauna,[37] and Vidargangr.[38]

Symphonic black metal is a style of black metal that incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. This may include the usage of music workstation keyboards to conjure up "pseudo-orchestral" landscapes with default presets (e.g. strings, choirs, piano, organs, and pads), or full orchestral arrangements containing woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboards and strings. Bands like Carach Angren may feature solo instruments such as violins, in addition to virtual or live orchestral arrangements. Vocals can be "clean" or operatic in style, and song structures are more defined or are inspired by symphonies, albeit not adhering to forms found in Western music (e.g. sonata, rondo, theme and variations) and following a typical riff-based approach. Many of the characteristics of traditional black metal are retained, such as shrieked vocals, fast tempos, high treble gain and tremolo picked electric guitars. Examples of symphonic black metal include Emperor and Dimmu Borgir.

Viking metal band Enslaved

Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music with origins in black metal and Nordic folk music, characterized by a common lyrical and thematic focus on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Its musical style is typically manifested as Nordic folk-influenced black metal. Some common traits include a slow-paced and heavy riffing style, anthemic choruses, use of both clean and harsh vocals, a frequent use of folk instrumentation, and, often, the use of keyboards for atmospheric effect. Viking metal developed in the 1980s through the mid-1990s as a rejection of Satanism and the occult, instead embracing the Vikings and paganism as the leaders of opposition to Christianity. Most Viking metal bands originate from the Nordic countries, and nearly all bands claim that their members descend, directly or indirectly, from Vikings. Bathory, from Sweden, is generally credited with pioneering the genre with its albums Blood Fire Death (1988) and Hammerheart (1990). Enslaved, Burzum, Emperor, Storm and Falkenbach helped further develop the genre in the early through mid-1990s. The death metal bands Unleashed and Amon Amarth, which emerged during the early 1990s, also adopted Viking themes, broadening the genre from its primarily black metal origin. Other key bands in the genre include Darkwoods My Betrothed, Einherjer, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Thyrfing, and Windir.

War metal band Blasphemy

War metal,[39] also known as war black metal[40] or bestial black metal,[41] is an aggressive,[40] cacophonous[39] and chaotic[39][40] black metal style, described by Rock Hard journalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann as "rabid"[40] and "hammering".[40] Important influences include first wave band Sodom[39][40] and first wave/death metal band Possessed,[40] as well as old grindcore, black, and death metal bands like Repulsion,[39][40] Autopsy,[40] Sarcófago[39][40][41][42] and the first two Sepultura releases.[40][42] War metal bands include Blasphemy,[39][40][42] Archgoat,[40] Impiety,[40] In Battle,[43] Zyklon-B.[44]

George Clark of blackgaze band Deafheaven

Blackgaze is a genre fusion of black metal and shoegaze that originated in the early 2000s.[45][46] The genre often incorporates heavier elements common of black metal, including blast beat drumming and high-pitched screamed vocals with melodic elements, and heavily distorted "Wall of Sound" guitar styles typically associated with shoegazing. The French shoegazing band Alcest is often credited with having influenced and formed the genre, while American bands such as Deafheaven have become synonymous as to defining the genre's characteristics.[47][48]

Post-black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emphasizes more experimentation and creative expression than other forms, as well as molding different music genres into black metal. Bands such as Deafheaven,[49] Alcest,[49] Liturgy, Deathspell Omega, and Altar of Plagues[49] are notable bands in this genre.

Lars Stokstad of unblack metal band Antestor

Unblack metal, sometimes called Christian black metal, is a genre of music that is stylistically black metal, but whose artists promote Christianity in their lyrics and imagery.[54] Such artists are controversial, mainly because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, intended to encourage hostility towards Christianity. It is also suggested that Christianity contradicts black metal's dark nature, and the individualistic and misanthropic ideals of many bands.[55]

The exact beginning of the Christian black metal movement is disputed. The Australian band Horde's 1994 album Hellig Usvart brought the concept and the term holy unblack metal (a word play on Darkthrone's slogan "unholy black metal" used on the albums A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Under a Funeral Moon) to media attention. The Norwegian band Antestor formed in 1990 as a death/doom act and released its demo The Defeat of Satan in 1991, before they began shifting towards black metal on their 1994 album Martyrium. Other examples of unblack metal bands include Crimson Moonlight, Admonish, and Frosthardr.

Crust punk groups, such as Amebix, took some influence from early black metal bands like Venom, Hellhammer, and Celtic Frost.[56] Similarly, Bathory was initially inspired by crust punk, as well as heavy metal.[59] Crust punk was affected by a second wave of black metal in the 1990s, with some bands emphasizing these black metal elements. Iskra are probably the most obvious example of second wave black metal-influenced crust punk;[60] Iskra coined their own phrase "blackened crust" to describe their new style. The Japanese group Gallhammer also fused crust punk with black metal[61] while the English band Fukpig has been said to have elements of crust punk, black metal, and grindcore.[62][63] In addition, Norwegian band Darkthrone have incorporated crust punk traits in their more recent material. As Daniel Ekeroth wrote in 2008:

In a very ironic paradox, black metal and crust punk have recently started to embrace one another. Members of Darkthrone and Satyricon have lately claimed that they love punk, while among crusties, black metal is the latest fashion. In fact, the latest album by crust punk band Skitsystem sounds very black metal—while the latest black metal opus by Darkthrone sounds very punk! This would have been unimaginable in the early 90s.

— [64]

Blackened death metal is a style that combines death metal and black metal. Examples of blackened death metal bands are Belphegor, Behemoth, Akercocke, Dissection and Sacramentum.

Olle Dahlstedt of Swedish death 'n' roll band Entombed

"Death 'n' roll" is a term for death metal bands that incorporate rock and roll elements to their overall sound. The term is a blend of death metal and rock 'n' roll. The achieved effect is that of death metal's trademark combination of growled vocals and highly distorted detuned guitar riffing with elements reminiscent of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal.[77][78] Notable examples include Entombed, Six Feet Under, Gorefest, Helltrain, and Deuteronomium.

Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth

Melodic death metal, also referred to as melodeath or MDM, is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia. The Swedish death metal scene in particular did much to popularize the style, which soon centered in the "Gothenburg metal" scene in Gothenburg, Sweden. Some prominent melodic death metal bands include Amon Amarth, At the Gates, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, In Flames, and Carcass.

Technical death metal band Cynic

Technical death metal, often abbreviated to tech death, is characterized by fast, technically complex guitar and drum work, often including sweeping guitar solos. Vocals often adopt the guttural sound of death metal. Some of the first tech death bands include Death, Pestilence, Atheist, Nocturnus, Cynic, Origin and Cephalic Carnage. The music is often dark in nature.

Bands described as symphonic death metal include Ex Deo, Necronomicon,[79] Septicflesh,[80] Children of Bodom,[81] Epica,[82] and Fleshgod Apocalypse.[83] Haggard's 2000 album, Awaking the Centuries, has been described as death metal-styled symphonic metal.[84]

Death/doom band My Dying Bride

Death/doom, sometimes written as death-doom or deathdoom, is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal, with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal.[86] The genre emerged in the mid-1980s, and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s, but had become less common by the turn of the 21st century.[86] In turn, death/doom gave rise to the closely related genre of funeral doom, as well as to the more melodic and romantic gothic metal. The death/doom genre originated in the mid-1980s when the early progenitors like Dream Death began to mix traditional doom metal with the sounds of thrash and the nascent death metal scene.[87] Early records by such bands as Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema combined the sounds of mid-1980s Celtic Frost and Candlemass with the use of female vocals,[88] keyboards and, in the case of My Dying Bride, violins.

Greg Anderson of drone metal band Sunn O)))

Drone metal, also known as drone doom, began as a derivative of doom metal and it is largely defined by drones; notes or chords that are sustained and repeated throughout a piece of music. Typically, the electric guitar is performed with large amounts of reverb and feedback,[89] while vocals, if present, are usually growled or screamed. Songs are often very long and lack beat or rhythm in the traditional sense. Drone doom is generally influenced by drone music,[89] noise music[89] and minimalist music.[89] The style emerged in the early 1990s and was pioneered by Earth,[90] Boris[89] and Sunn O))).[89]

Funeral doom is a style of doom metal that crosses death-doom with funeral dirge music. It is played at a very slow tempo and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair. Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted, and dark ambient aspects such as keyboards or synthesizers are often used to create a "dreamlike" atmosphere. Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background. Funeral doom was pioneered by Mournful Congregation (Australia), Esoteric (United Kingdom), Evoken (United States), Funeral (Norway), Thergothon (Finland), Skepticism (Finland) and Corrupted (Japan).

Sludge metal band Crowbar

Sludge metal began in the early–to–mid–1980s when hardcore punk bands like Black Flag and Flipper began slowing their tempos and incorporating elements of doom metal.[91] This style then spread to Washington, where the Melvins would go on to be described by publications such as Revolver as the band that "invented sludge".[92] By the 1990s, Louisiana developed one of the largest and influential sludge metal scenes, with bands like Acid Bath, Crowbar, Down and Eyehategod.[93] Many sludge bands compose slow and heavy songs that contain brief hardcore passages.[94][95] However, some bands emphasize fast tempos throughout their music.[96] The string instruments are heavily distorted and are often played with large amounts of feedback to produce an abrasive, sludgy sound. Drumming is often performed in typical doom metal fashion, but drummers may employ hardcore d-beat or double-kick drumming during faster passages. Vocals are usually shouted or screamed, and lyrics are generally pessimistic in nature. Suffering, drug abuse, politics, and anger towards society are common lyrical themes.[97]

Stoner rock or stoner metal is typically slow-to-mid tempo, low-tuned, and bass-heavy.[98] It combines elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock and doom metal, often with melodic vocals and 'retro' production.[99] The genre emerged during the early 1990s, and was pioneered foremost by the Californian bands Kyuss[100] and Sleep.[101] Other prominent stoner metal bands include Acid King and Electric Wizard.

Celtic and pagan metal band Primordial

Celtic metal is a subgenre of folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal music and Celtic music. The early pioneers of the genre were the three Irish bands Cruachan, Primordial and Waylander. The genre has since expanded beyond Irish shores and is known to be performed today by bands from numerous other countries.

Pirate metal is a subgenre of folk metal that blends heavy metal, thrash metal, and sometimes speed metal with pirate mythology, and, commonly, elements of sea shanties. The style was influenced heavily by German heavy metal band Running Wild and its third studio album, Under Jolly Roger. Popular Pirate metal bands include Alestorm, Swashbuckle, and Lagerstein.

Folk, pagan, and Viking metal band Moonsorrow

Pagan metal is heavy metal music which fuses extreme metal with "the pre-Christian traditions of a specific culture or region through thematic concept, rustic melodies, unusual instruments or archaic languages",[103][104] usually referring to folk metal or black metal. The Norwegian band In the Woods... was one of the first bands commonly viewed as pagan metal.[105][106] Metal Hammer author Marc Halupczok wrote that Primordial's song "To Enter Pagan" from the band's demo "Dark Romanticism" contributed to defining the genre.[107] Pagan metal bands are often associated with Viking metal and folk metal. Bands such as Moonsorrow and Kampfar have been identified as fitting within all three of those genres.[108][109]

Deathgrind, sometimes written as death-grind or death/grind, is a musical genre that fuses death metal and grindcore. Deathgrind has been described as "grindcore and brutal death metal colliding head on."[111] Danny Lilker described deathgrind as "combining the technicality of death metal with the intensity of grindcore."[112] Death/grind emphasizes overall musical brutality with a specific focus on fast tempos and retains grindcore's traditional abruptness.[113] Notable bands include Cattle Decapitation and Misery Index.

Goregrind band Carcass

Goregrind is a subgenre of grindcore and death metal.[114] Early examples of the genre include Repulsion's Horrified, Impetigo's Ultimo Mondo Cannibale,[115] and the first two studio albums of Carcass, which defined the genre.[116] In its Reek of Putrefaction-era, Carcass used pitch shifters, medical imagery, and, in a deviation from the frequently political or left-wing lyrics commonly used in the hardcore punk and grindcore scenes, gory, anatomical references in its lyrics.

Pornogrind, also known as porno grind, porno-grind or porn grind, is a musical subgenre of grindcore and death metal, which lyrically deals with sexual themes. Natalie Purcell's book Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture, suggests that pornogrind is defined solely on the basis of its lyrical content and unique imagery, its focus on pornographic content. Purcell notes that bands like Gut include "simpler, slower, and more rock-like songs". The artwork for pornogrind bands' albums is noted for its extreme and potentially offensive nature, which "would keep them out of most stores". an example of the genre is Cock and Ball Torture.

The 21st century also saw the development of "electrogrind" (or "cybergrind"),[117][118] practiced by The Berzerker, Body Hammer, Gigantic Brain and Genghis Tron which borrows from electronic music.[119] These groups built on the work of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Enemy Soil and The Locust, as well as industrial metal.[117] The Berzerker also appropriated the distorted Roland TR-909 kick drums of gabber producers.[120] Many later electrogrind groups were caricatured for their hipster connections.[117]

Some musicians emerging from the death metal scene, such as Fear Factory, Nailbomb, Autokrator and Meathook Seed, also began to experiment with industrial. Fear Factory, from Los Angeles,[128] were initially influenced by the Earache roster (namely Godflesh, Napalm Death and Bolt Thrower).[129] The German band Oomph!, after their second album Sperm, started to play industrial metal combined with elements of death metal and groove metal, until the album Plastik. Sepultura singer Max Cavalera's Nailbomb, a collaboration with Alex Newport, also practiced a combination of extreme metal and industrial production techniques.[130] A lesser-known example of industrial death metal is Meathook Seed, made up of members of Napalm Death and the Florida death metal group Obituary. An industrial music fan, Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres suggested drum machines for The End Complete,[131] Obituary's most successful album.[132] The other band members' refusal led him to form Meathook Seed.[133]

In the early years of the 21st century, groups from the black metal scene began to incorporate elements of industrial music. Mysticum, formed in 1991,[134] was the first of these groups.[135] DHG (Dødheimsgard), Thorns from Norway, and Blut Aus Nord, N.K.V.D. and Blacklodge from France, have been acclaimed for their incorporation of industrial elements.[136]

Melodic metalcore band As I Lay Dying

Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre which combines sounds and traits from melodic death metal with hardcore punk, metalcore and occasionally emo.[144] Melodic metalcore bands include Trivium,[145][146] All That Remains,[147] Atreyu,[144][148][149] Bullet for My Valentine,[150] Bury Tomorrow,[151] Darkest Hour,[148] Asking Alexandria,[152] As I Lay Dying,[153][154] August Burns Red[155][156][157] and The Devil Wears Prada.[158]

Melodic metalcore bands have big influences, guitar riffs, and writing styles from Swedish melodic death metal bands, such as At the Gates, Arch Enemy, In Flames and Soilwork.[148][159] They tend to have strong use of instrumental melody. Many melodic metalcore vocalists use clean singing techniques, as well as growls and screaming. It also can feature harmonic guitar riffs, tremolo picking, double bass drums and metalcore-stylized breakdowns.[160][161][162] Some bands also may feature guitar solos.[149] A few of these groups, like Shadows Fall, have some appreciation for 1980s glam metal.[163] Melodic metalcore groups have been described as "embrac[ing] '80s metal clichés", such as "inordinate amounts of smoke machines, rippin' solos, [and] three bass drums."[149]

Deathcore combines elements of death metal with elements of metalcore or hardcore punk, or both.[164][165] It is defined by an "excessive" use of death metal riffs, blast beats and use of hardcore punk breakdowns.[166][167] Some prominent bands include the Acacia Strain, Carnifex, Despised Icon, Suicide Silence, Rings of Saturn, Thy Art is Murder, Lorna Shore and Whitechapel.

Mathcore is a rhythmically complex and dissonant style of heavy metal and hardcore punk, though many groups draw mainly from metalcore. It has its roots in bands such as Converge,[168] Botch,[169][170] and The Dillinger Escape Plan.[171] The term mathcore is suggested by analogy with math rock. Both math rock and mathcore make use of unusual time signatures. Prominent mathcore groups have been associated with grindcore.[172][173][174]

Electronicore (also known as synthcore or trancecore) is fusion genre of metalcore with elements of various electronic music genres,[175] such as trance, electronica, and dubstep.[176] The term electronicore is a portmanteau of electronic and metalcore. Notable artists of this genre have originated from the United Kingdom (Asking Alexandria),[177] the United States (I See Stars, Sky Eats Airplane),[178][179] Australia, Canada (Abandon All Ships),[180] France,[181] Ukraine (Make Me Famous),[182] Hong Kong (BLAK, Soul Of Ears),[183][184] Japan (Crossfaith),[185] South Korea (In Your Face),[186][187] and Malaysia (Sekumpulan Orang Gila).[188]

Nu metalcore (sometimes referred to as nu metal revival or new nu metal)[189][190] is the fusion genre of nu metal and metalcore that began in the 2000s, and gained popularity in the 2010s.[191] Some of the notable groups have also taken influence from R&B,[191] industrial metal,[189] post-hardcore,[192] and deathcore.[193]

Progressive metalcore (also called technical metalcore or ambient metalcore) is a fusion of progressive metal and metalcore, characterized by highly technical lead guitar, "atmospheric" elements, and complex instrumentation.

Djent, also known as djent metal,[197] is a musical subgenre that emerged as a spin-off from progressive metal.[198][199] The word "djent" is an onomatopoeia for a heavily palm-muted, distorted guitar chord. Typically, the word is used to refer to music that makes use of this sound, to the sound itself, or to the scene that revolves around it.[200] Djent as a style has been described as featuring heavily palm-muted, distorted guitar chords alongside virtuoso soloing,[198] and is characterized by rhythmic complexity and palm-muted riffing.[201] Pioneering bands in the style are Born of Osiris, Meshuggah, Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Tesseract, and Textures.

Progressive metalcore (also called technical metalcore or ambient metalcore) is a fusion of progressive metal and metalcore characterized by highly technical lead guitar, "atmospheric" elements, and complex instrumentation.[202][203][35][193] Some notable practitioners take influence from djent.[204][205][206]

Crossover thrash, often abbreviated to "crossover,"[208] and sometimes called also "punk metal," is a form of thrash metal that contains more hardcore punk elements than standard thrash. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and punk rock. The genre is often confused with thrashcore, which is essentially a faster hardcore punk rather than a more punk-oriented form of metal.[209][210] Corrosion of Conformity, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Stormtroopers of Death and Suicidal Tendencies are major bands in the genre.

Groove metal, also known as neo-thrash, post-thrash, or power groove, consists of slow or mid-tempo and down tuned thrash riffs, bluesy guitar solos, greatly emphasized drum work, and harsh vocals that generally consist of screaming, shouting, and raspy singing. Examples of groove metal include Pantera, Exhorder, Lamb of God, Machine Head, DevilDriver, Jinjer, Sepultura and A.N.I.M.A.L.

More recently in the 2010s, the term "new wave of traditional heavy metal" (often abbreviated as NWOTHM) has been used to describe a new wave of bands with a newly found interest in the style, particularly the late 70s and early 80s new wave of British heavy metal variant that has influenced speed metal and power metal; some of these bands are indeed a mixture of these genres while combining more elements of the classical sound, or mimic the style at the time that would soon evolve into them.

Examples of NWOTHM bands include: Helvetets Port, Portrait, Enforcer, Cauldron, White Wizzard, Fury UK, Striker (Ca), Battle Beast, and more recently Seax, Visigoth, Blackslash (De), and Angel Sword.